What They Don’t Teach in Dental School

By Mr. Casey Hiers, FDC2019 Speaker

Dentistry is a unique and challenging occupation. The variety, flexibility and income potential associated with being a dentist or specialist is second to none. What most dentists don’t see coming and receive little to no training on is the business side of dentistry. A practice owner can bear the workload of multiple C-level executives, on top of providing great dentistry. This can cause a dentist to spend many late nights pouring into the business side of their practice. Too many dentists feel like they are on a hamster wheel or on an island with no one to talk to and no end in sight. Is this the best use of your time? Is this what you went to dental school for?

The No. 1 challenge in dentistry today is the business side. A dentist makes the most impact treating patients, not analyzing QuickBooks, accounting strategies, cash flow reports, etc. Making sure the proper systems and processes for your specific practice are in place to maximize your income and retirement savings is paramount.

We worked with a dentist in Texas who was just winging it when it came to the business/finance side of their practice. They struggled with insurance, income structure, retirement savings, overhead and poor tax management. They felt they were taking one step forward and two steps back. If you want an example of what getting your financial house in order looks like, then this before and after snapshot will be worth a glance. Their income went from $196,500 to $322,700 in 2 ½ years. Retirement savings went from $0 to $64,050 in that same time frame. Those are just the financial benefits. The emotional relief that comes with mastering the business side of your practice is priceless. Another example is a dentist from Florida. They were gifted clinically, adored by their patients and extremely busy. They didn’t mind the business side, but always felt like they could be doing better. Their income went from $177,106 to $318,033 and retirement savings from $14,041 to $104,023 in two years. Overhead decreased 12%, but the biggest improvement in their eyes was no more tax surprises from Uncle Sam.

Attending this course could be the difference between being financially free to retire in your 50s or worrying that your hands, neck or back will give out before you are able to retire on your terms.

Mr. Hiers’ course, “What They Don’t Teach in Dental School — The Business Side” (NC04) will be on Thursday, June 27 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Make sure to register for this course today — only 30 seats left! Go to floridadentalconvention.com to register.